More bleak news about the travails of trying to manage a cultural attraction while the economy’s in the toilet.

When I was an intern, I spent a fair amount of time manning a cash register in a museum lobby. Some visitors used to complain about admission costs (a paltry four or five bucks per adult back in those days), remarking that we must have been glad we such a nice little cash cow going. They were so wrong it wasn’t even funny. In many museums, admissions revenue rarely even comes close to meeting operating expenses. Indeed, in many cases, it doesn’t even cover basic maintenance costs. Keep that in mind the next time you feel like griping to the guy at the ticket counter.